Aus retailers seek protection from online competition - Does this irk HN?

Well I assume that most folks on HN would be somewhat interested in seeing online services flourish, and this is a move to disadvantage them simply because retailers either refuse to, or are incapable of, updating their business models. And not only do the innovators suffer, but so to do the consumers who are forced to pay higher prices because they can't get access to the value produced by the innovation. It irks me because the retailers think they have some kind of right to exist.

Imagine you are living in a village where one guy gets paid for carrying water from the lake. Then one day, some other guy builds a pipe and a pump - the first guy is out of a job! So he goes to the village chief, who bans everyone from using the pipe to get their water so that the first guy could keep his job.

That's clearly insane to my mind - and was wondering if the HN community concurs or if they see the other side.